Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser is President and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that does everything from massive landscape protection projects to pocket parks in big cities, all built around a simple idea: land for people. I've wanted to have Carrie on the podcast for a long time, and we finally made it happen in person at El Pomar's Penrose House here in Colorado Springs. She's one of the most accomplished, grounded, and genuinely fun people I've talked to in a while, and her résumé is so packed I honestly don't know how she's fi...

Riverhorse Nakadate is a writer, Patagonia ambassador, conservationist, and canoe-paddling, fly-fishing, bird-loving, self-described tree hugger. He's also the author of the book "Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain." Riverhorse and I have been trading emails for years, so it was a real treat to finally meet in person when he came through Boulder on his book tour. He's one of the warmest people I've met in a long time; and I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. This conversation also marks the launch of something new: M&P Reads, the...

Olivia Amber is a professional ultrarunner, climber, and adventurer, and a North Face sponsored athlete based in Bishop, California. I met Olivia at The Rut Mountain Runs in Big Sky, where she was on a public lands panel I moderated. She was also there to talk about her biggest project to date: Norman's 13. Norman's 13 is a route, a link-up of all thirteen of the Sierra's 14,000-foot peaks. It's more than 100 miles with over 40,000 feet of climbing, much of it exposed, off-trail, fifth-class scrambling. Last September, Olivia did the whole thing in one non-stop push, finishing in about 89 hours and...

Dan Flores is back for another visit on the podcast. If you're a fan of the history of the American West, then Dan is no stranger—he's the author of many of my favorite books, including American Serengeti, Coyote America, and Wild New World. Most recently, he wrapped up a 42-episode series with the MeatEater network called The American West with Dan Flores, covering everything from bison and wolves to the origins of our public lands and what it means to belong to a place. It's the closest most of us will get to sitting in one of Dan's un...

Fitz Cahall is the creator of the legendary outdoor podcast The Dirtbag Diaries, co-founder of the creative agency Duct Tape Then Beer, and author of the excellent book States of Adventure. But most recently, he's gone from prolific creative mind to public lands advocate with the launch of Save Public Lands, a campaign that gives public land lovers of all stripes, from climbers to hunters, a way to go on the offense against the ongoing attacks on our public lands. The goal is a million signatures on a short letter with three clear demands: no more sell-offs, no more...

T.A. Barron—known as Tom to his friends—is a renowned author, a lifelong conservationist, and someone whose work sits at the intersection of two subjects that are near and dear to my heart: books and the natural world. Tom has written more than 30 books, including the internationally bestselling Merlin Saga, and his newest book, "Naming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers," gave us the perfect excuse to finally sit down together. It's a beautiful, fascinating exploration of the stories behind the names we give to plants, animals, and other parts of the natural world, and...

Kim Wiggins is a world-renowned painter from New Mexico, and one of the most recognizable artists working in the American West today. His bold, swirling canvases have made him one of the leading artistic voices of what's come to be called the New West. His work hangs in the Autry, the Booth, and the American Museum of Western Art in Denver, and this past year he won Best in Show at the Prix de West, the most prestigious award in Western art, becoming the first modernist ever to take it home.

Kim comes by all of this...

Introducing Mountain & Prairie Reads—a book club for people who don't want to sit through another Zoom call.

Every other month or so, I'll recommend a book I think is worth your time. Read it, send me your questions, and then I'll sit down with the author and ask as many of your best questions as I can.

Our first selection is Water Lines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas and in the Rain by Riverhorse Nakadate. I'll be interviewing Riverhorse on September 30, so grab a copy, start reading, and submit your questions by September 29.

Romey Swanson is the Executive Director of the Devils River Conservancy, and he wears a lot of other hats too—wildlife biologist, naturalist, writer, photographer, and a leader in just about every corner of the Texas conservation world. The Devils River is generally considered the most pristine stream in Texas, and maybe in the entire Southwest—remote, spring-fed, and held together entirely by private landowners. The county it runs through leads all 254 counties in Texas in privately conserved acres, and none of it was required by regulation. If you've ever wondered how conservation gets done in a place with almo...

Dr. Mike Bartolo is a third-generation farmer from Pueblo County, Colorado, and a retired research scientist and vegetable crops specialist at Colorado State University. Mike's grandparents immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s to work in the mines around Pueblo, and after years of backbreaking labor, they saved enough to buy a small farm on the St. Charles Mesa—the beginning of a family legacy on the land that continues to this day. Mike went on to spend more than three decades at CSU serving the farmers of the Arkansas Valley, and while he'd never claim the title himself, ma...

This is Heather Hansman's third appearance on the podcast, and if you've been listening for a while, you know how much her work has shaped my own understanding of the West. Heather is an award-winning journalist and the author of "Downriver" and "Powder Days"—two books I reference constantly—and she's back today to talk about her brand-new book, Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild, which hits shelves the same day this episode is released.

"Fierce Country" tells the stories of three women who were pivotal in shaping how...

Elif Koyutürk is a filmmaker, photographer, and all-around artist originally from Istanbul, now based in Bend, Oregon. Elif works across many mediums—photography, poetry, film, and more—but the throughline in everything she does is a drive to make people feel a story, not just read the facts of it. She brings a rare kind of power and passion to her work, and it's clear that her connection to land and place isn't just a subject for her, it's personal.

Like so many fascinating people I talk to on this podcast, her path wasn't a straight line...

This is my second episode with Adam Cramer, CEO of the Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of ten national organizations representing the human-powered outdoor community—mountain biking, backcountry skiing, kayaking, climbing, trail running, and more. The Outdoor Alliance works to protect public lands and the places these communities love, getting deeply involved in conservation policy and empowering people to take action on behalf of the landscapes that matter to them. The last year has been a relentless one for public lands, with threats coming from every direction, and Adam and his team have been in the thick of it.

In this solo episode, I share five books that fundamentally shaped my understanding of conservation, public lands, water, ranching, and the American West. These are the books that helped transform me from a ranch broker with a growing curiosity about conservation into someone who eventually devoted much of his career – and this podcast – to exploring the people and ideas shaping the landscapes of the West.

Along the way, I discuss Theodore Roosevelt, wildfire policy, regenerative grazing, Western water, and the history of conservation, while highlighting conversations from the Mountain & Prairie archive that connect to each book. Whether you...

Dillon Osleger wears a lot of hats: geologist, professional mountain biker for Specialized, trail builder, public lands policy analyst and advocate, and now first-time author. His debut book, "Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America's Public Lands," blends science, history, and personal reflection into a look at our relationship with the places we love. It's already earned praise from the likes of Bill McKibben, Robert Moor, and former M&P guest Rick Ridgeway. And for whatever it's worth, I loved it as well. I've read a ton of books on public lands, and this one filled in...

My longtime partners and collaborators at The Nature Conservancy recently launched a great podcast series called "On the Move," hosted by TNC storyteller Leah Palmer. It's all about wild animals, their migrations, and the people working to keep those journeys wild and free. If you're a longtime Mountain & Prairie listener, then many of these people, places, and conservation issues will be familiar to you. In fact, a few of the experts you'll hear over the course of the full series are past M&P guests, including Sammy Matsaw Jr., Kelsey Molloy, and Nancy Fishbein. 

So I'm excited t...

This is a live episode recorded at the 2026 Great Plains Stakeholder Workshop, hosted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The workshop brought together many of the country's leading grasslands conservationists, scientists, funders, and policy experts to tackle a huge question: what would it look like to create a bold, practical, long-term plan for conserving North America's grasslands over the next 30 years?

My guests are two people helping to lead that effort: Dr. Holly Bamford, Chief Conservation Officer at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (known as NFWF for short), and Marshall Johnson, Chief Conservation Officer for...

Hillary Rosner is an award-winning journalist and author whose work combines science, storytelling, and the natural world. She's been writing about environmental issues for decades, with bylines in publications like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. Her new book, "Roam: Wild Animals and the Race to Repair Our Fractured World," explores one of the most urgent—and often overlooked—challenges in conservation: the loss of connectivity across the landscape, and what that means for the movement and survival of wildlife.

Like so many fascinating people, Hillary's path into this work wasn't a straight line. She...

Miriam Horn is an award-winning journalist and author whose work lives at the intersection of conservation, food production, and the people working—often quietly and pragmatically—to hold those worlds together. Many listeners will recognize her from her excellent book "Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman," a title that's come up repeatedly on this podcast for its nuanced look at how working lands and conservation can coexist. But her new book, "Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller," zooms out to tell the story of a man whose influence touches nearly every corner of modern wildlife biology.

I...

Meriwether Hardie has built a life around long, ambitious horseback journeys through remote landscapes, and she uses those adventures as a way to better understand land, food, and the people who depend on both. In her early twenties, she rode for a year through South America, and this past summer, she spent five months traveling solo across the American West with two horses and a dog. Along the way, she's not just covering ground, she's asking questions, listening closely, and connecting with agricultural producers and rural communities. That combination of adventure, inquiry, and agriculture is also at the core...

Jazmine Ulloa is a national reporter who covers immigration for The New York Times and is the author of the new book "El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory." It's a sweeping, deeply researched look at one of the most overlooked regions in the American West. Born and raised in El Paso, Jazmine brings both a journalist's discipline and a personal connection to the story, weaving together archival research, oral histories, and her own family background to explore how this border community has shaped the broader story of the United States.

Pete McBride is a photographer, filmmaker, and author whose work has taken him all over the world, but at the center of it all is a river much closer to home: the Colorado River. He's been a frequent guest on this podcast over the years, and his work has consistently offered one of the most thoughtful and visually compelling perspectives on the landscapes and water systems that define the American West. His latest book, "Witness to Water: One Photographer's Mission to Defend the Colorado River," is a departure from his previous photo-driven projects—it's all words, and it brings to...

Sebastian Junger is an award-winning journalist, a New York Times bestselling author, and an Academy Award–nominated filmmaker. Regular listeners are surely familiar with his work, as I've mentioned his books a ridiculous number of times on this podcast over the years—especially his book "Tribe," which has had a lasting influence on how I think about community, purpose, and the kinds of experiences that give people meaning.

So for Episode 300, I was excited to sit down with Sebastian for a real, in-person conversation.

Sebastian is the author of "The Perfect Storm," "War," "Tribe," "Freedom," and...

Darcy Chenoweth is a Montana-based Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner whose career sits at the intersection of medicine, trauma recovery, and the outdoor world. Darcy works with individuals and organizations—especially those in high-stress helping professions such as first responders, healthcare workers, and other frontline roles—to address burnout, trauma exposure, and the long-term impacts of stress. Her work blends psychotherapy, medication management, and practical tools that help people metabolize the intense experiences that often come with caring for others.

Darcy grew up in Colorado's Front Range mountains, and later moved north to Missoula for college, drawn larg...

Mark Kenyon is no stranger to Mountain & Prairie listeners—he's the author of "That Wild Country," host of the Wired to Hunt podcast, and the newly minted Director of Conservation at MeatEater. He's also one of the most voracious readers I know.

Every few years, Mark and I record a special episode where we discuss our top 10 favorite books in a particular category. The first one was our top 10 conservation books, then we explored our top 10 books about the American West—you can find links to both of those episodes in the show notes.

For this...

Stella Maria Baer is a Santa Fe–based painter whose work is deeply rooted in land, light, and place. Known for her luminous depictions of moons, desert skies, horses, and wide-open Southwestern landscapes, Stella often makes her own pigments by hand—grinding rocks, dirt, and minerals into paint that quite literally contains the places she portrays. In addition to her studio practice, she teaches intimate workshops on natural pigment painting for land-based artists on her New Mexico property, creating space for people to reconnect with their creativity, their hands, and the earth itself.

Stella grew up in New...

Today's conversation is a joint episode between Mountain & Prairie and The River Radius podcast. I'm joined by Sam Carter, the creator and host of The River Radius.

If you're not already familiar with The River Radius, I give it my highest endorsement. It's the most thoughtful and well-crafted show out there about rivers, water, and the people connected to them. Sam has built something genuinely special, and he's someone I consider both a friend and a collaborator. I've learned a great deal from the way he approaches storytelling, curiosity, and place.

For this episode, instead...

My guest today is Kelsey Morris, and this is her second time on the podcast—which feels long-overdue, because a lot has happened since we last talked.

When Kelsey first joined me nearly five years ago, she was balancing a full-time job while building her art career on the side. Shortly after that conversation, she did something many creative people dream about and very few actually do: she quit her job, changed her phone number, and went all-in on her work as an artist. Since then, she's built a deeply recognizable visual style, taken on major commissions, an...

Jason Gardner is a retired Navy SEAL who now works as a top-level leadership instructor with Echelon Front. Over his thirty-year career in the SEAL teams, he served in combat operations in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, later becoming Command Master Chief of SEAL Team Five and Training Detachment. Since retiring from the Navy, Jason has worked with hundreds of organizations as a leadership instructor and strategic advisor, helping teams apply high-stakes leadership principles to business and life. He now lives in a remote corner of northeastern Washington with his wife, Iris, and their two children, where he spends his...

Todd Ulizio is the co-owner of Two Bear Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Whitefish, Montana, that's quietly become a cornerstone of the Flathead Valley's local food community. Alongside his wife Rebecca, Todd has spent nearly two decades growing food, building soil, and figuring out how to make a small, values-driven farm work in a world that doesn't always make it easy.

Todd's path to farming was anything but direct. He grew up in Connecticut and followed a traditional educational and career path, eventually becoming an accountant at a prestigious Big 6 Firm. Experiencing success but not fulfillment...

Sammy Matsaw Jr. is the Director of the Columbia Basin Program at The Nature Conservancy, where he works at the intersection of salmon recovery, tribal sovereignty, and large-scale river restoration across one of the most complex watersheds in North America. In this role, Sammy helps guide conservation strategies that span state lines, political boundaries, and cultural histories—while keeping people, relationships, and responsibility at the center of the work.

Sammy grew up on the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation, surrounded by salmon stories, land-based learning, and a deep sense of responsibility to place. He served in the U.S. military, in...

Today's episode is a bit of a departure from the usual format.

I'm re-sharing a recent conversation I had on my friend Brendan Leonard's new podcast, My Favorite Things. I'm sure most of y'all are already familiar with Brendan's work, but for those of you who aren't, he's an author, illustrator, filmmaker, and creator of Semi-Rad. 

Brendan's new podcast is built around a simple but fascinating premise: conversations about the books, films, art, and creative works that have helped shape a person's life and career.

In this conversation, we spend less time on w...

Mike Schaedel is the Western Montana Forest Restoration Director for The Nature Conservancy, where he leads some of the most ambitious and collaborative forest restoration work happening anywhere in the West. Based in Missoula, Mike works at the intersection of science, community partnerships, and land stewardship—helping restore fire-adapted forests, reduce wildfire risk, and improve the health and resilience of landscapes across the region.

Mike's career path is super interesting and anything but traditional. He grew up in Portland, fell in love with the mountains through rock climbing, and eventually landed in Missoula, where the combination of wi...

This month marks ten full years of my bimonthly book-recommendations project—a decade of weird little paragraphs about the books that grab my scattered attention. Whether you've been here since the beginning or signed up five minutes ago, thank you. I'm still baffled anyone reads these things, but I'm grateful all the same.

To mark the occasion, I recorded a late-night solo episode from The Shed, diving deeper into each of my September & October picks: why I chose them, what stayed with me, and the sometimes-unexpected lessons I gleaned from each of them. Or you could just de...

Devon O'Neil is a journalist, author, and longtime friend of mine whose new book "The Way Out: A True Story of Survival in the Heart of the Rockies" is one of the best pieces of outdoor nonfiction I've read in years. The book tells the harrowing true story of a backcountry ski trip near Leadville, Colorado, that turned tragic—and the years-long process of understanding what really happened, and how a mountain town wrestled with loss, resilience, and the complicated relationship we all have with risk and wild places. It's gripping, deeply reported, and beautifully written—equal parts survival epic...

Carli Kierstead is the Forest Program Director for The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming, where she leads efforts to understand and restore some of the West's most critical—and often overlooked—ecosystems. From beetle kill and wildfire to drought, Wyoming's forests face a range of challenges that ripple far beyond the state's borders. These high-country forests are the headwaters of several major river basins, providing water to millions of people across the American West.

In this conversation, Carli and I dig into the past, present, and future of Western forests—how management philosophies have evolved over the decades, what's...

Bex Frucht is a force of nature—a storyteller and community builder whose work blends performance, land, and small-town life in the American West. Based in Livingston, Montana, she's the founder of TMI Live, a storytelling series that celebrates vulnerability, humor, and human connection, and for the past three years, she's been the "vibe steward" of the Old Salt Festival, where her talent for bringing people together has become legendary. Whether she's hosting a show, coaching storytellers, or emceeing a fundraiser, Bex radiates generosity, intelligence, and positivity in a way that elevates every room she's in.

Like so...

Yvon Chouinard needs no introduction. The founder of Patagonia, pioneer of clean climbing, co-founder of 1% for the Planet, and lifelong advocate for simplicity and wildness, he's one of the world's most influential environmental leaders. Now in his mid-80s, Yvon continues to live, work, and fish by the same principles that have guided him since his dirtbag climbing days: live simply, take responsibility for your impact, and keep finding meaning through deep, direct engagement with nature.

His newest book, "Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing," distills those philosophies into one of his lifelong...

Chris Keyes is the Executive Director of RE:PUBLIC and the former longtime Editor in Chief of Outside magazine. During his decades-long career in journalism, Chris helped guide Outside through some of its most iconic years—publishing award-winning stories, mentoring top writers, and keeping the magazine's adventurous spirit alive in an era of massive change across the media landscape. Earlier this year, after leaving Outside, he launched RE:PUBLIC, a new nonprofit newsroom dedicated to one of his lifelong passions: America's public lands.

RE:PUBLIC was created to fill a growing gap in environmental journalism. At a ti...

Brad Johnson is the Senior Regenerative Agriculture Advisor for The Nature Conservancy, where he helps farmers across Idaho and beyond explore new ways of working the land that build healthier soils, stronger operations, and more resilient communities. Brad's path into this work is deeply personal—he grew up on a multi-generational farm in northern Idaho, where as a teenager he saw firsthand how no-till practices could dramatically reduce erosion on the steep, fertile hills of his family's farm. That early "aha moment" set him on a winding path through farming, ranching, research, and even a stint in agricultural sales, be...